Make Prayers to the Sky

Since writing a book on the night sky (The Wild Dark), I can’t help looking up. I’ve slept outside most nights since the end of February, more comfortable falling asleep under stars than in a bed. The other night, I woke startled at the brightness of the Millky Way, thinking it was a wildfire. The nights that drive me inside are some of the best, hauling in my sleeping bag and pad and falling back to sleep to the sound of rain on the roof. Which brings us a post I wrote in 2021, looking up and hoping for moisture in a dry land. I’ve been traveling from town to town in Colorado giving outdoor stage talks at night, telling stories about drought and wildfires and raging thunderstorms. The moon and stars passed over our open-air venues. A poet came up to read her version of a rain prayer at each performance, and she wore a flowing dress, her palms held to the sky. A crown of flowers in her hair was illuminated with tiny wire lights to get the attention of the clouds. Good, old fashioned…